Galbuli is one of the two suborders of the order
Piciformes. It includes two families,
Bucconidae (puffbirds) and
Galbulidae (jacamars), both restricted to the
Neotropics (in contrast to the more widespread suborder
Pici).
Systematics
It was thought the jacamars and puffbirds were not closely related to toucans and woodpeckers, but instead related to the order
Coraciiformes.[1][2] However, analysis of
nuclear DNA in a 2003 study placed them as
sister group to Pici, also showing that the groups had developed
zygodactyl feet (two toes facing forward and two aft) before separating.[3] Per Ericson and colleagues, in analysing
genomic DNA, confirmed that puffbirds and jacamars were sister groups and their place in Piciformes.[4] The lineage is sometimes elevated to order level as Galbuliformes,[5] first proposed by Sibley and Ahlquist in 1990.[2]
Taxonomy
The following arrangement of taxa is based on Witt (2004).[6]